The children of 5L are continuing to work hard this half-term with no signs of slowing down (even though it feels like the holidays should be just around the corner!).

Maths

In maths we have finally finished with our place value and roman numeral work and have moved on to column addition. All of the children have really impressed me with how much prior knowledge they have been able to retain from previous years, which has meant that we could jump straight in. This week we have covered using the formal column method to add 4 digit+ numbers (sometimes with decimals) together and also used our knowledge of carrying to fill in missing numbers from given calculations such as the one below. Can you figure it out? (Answers can be found at the end of this post!)

Literacy

In literacy, we have been continuing on our journey through ‘The Odyssey’ and deepening our understanding of the story. To this end, we have been focusing in on two sections in particular: Odysseus’ encounter with the sorceress Circe and his return home to Ithaca. The children had to choose one of these sections to create a newspaper report about, demonstrating their understanding of the genre’s features.

Science

In science we are starting to look at simple machines, learning what they are and how they work. We started by looking at different types of lever. You may not realise just how many levers you have around you – things like scissors, wheelbarrows and seesaws to name but a few. We also experienced first-hand how levers make our jobs easier, taking a 1kg weight and making it feel like almost nothing!

Let’s hope that the next few weeks continue to go as well! Have a good weekend and we will see you on Monday!

What do the sources tell us?

As part of our work on the ancient Greeks, we are looking at how they made their lives better and what they did to ‘entertain’ themselves. During this lesson the children are going to learn two invaluable historical skills: source analysis and historical enquiry. Using the information available to us from limited primary source material, we will try and create an image about the ancient Olympics.

Job 1:

Source analysis and understanding – look at the sources and comment on what you can see. What are the images depicting; what special features can you notice; what stands out to you; what similarities are there?

*retrieval skills*

Job 2:

Use this information to draw out conclusions about the ancient Olympics. What do these sources tell you and how does this help create an overall image of the events.

*Inference and deduction skills*

WAGOLL – I can see what looks like many familiar sports in the images, such as boxing, discuss throwing and long jump. This tells me that many of the sports we see today in the Olympics were used in the Ancient Olympics too.

This week has been another fantastic one in 5L. The children are still working hard and persevering with their learning.

Maths

This week in maths, we have been looking at Roman Numerals. We started by learning which numbers were represented by letters in this system.

I = 1 V = 5 X = 10 L = 50 C = 100 D = 500 M = 1000

We then looked at the three main rules in place when reading or writing numbers using this system and discovered that:

When writing Roman Numerals you cannot repeat the same numeral more than three times in a row (therefore 4 cannot be represented by IIII)

If a smaller number appears before a bigger one, you should subtract it from the larger number (e.g. IV = 5 – 1 = 4)

If a smaller number appears after a bigger one, you should add it to the larger number (e.g. VI = 5 + 1 = 6)

The class have demonstrated a really good understanding of this system over the course of the week and have absolutely smashed every piece of work I have given them. They even used their knowledge of Roman Numerals to crack a code for a secret agent known only as Agent Badger…

Literacy

In literacy this week, we have been continuing our work on ‘The Odyssey’, this time focusing in on how to write descriptions. The children each designed their own island in the style of those visited by Odysseus and then wrote some fantastic descriptions of them. Some examples have been shared below.

Other Subjects

In science this week, we have been learning about water resistance and upthrust. The children discussed the impact that water resistance has on movement through liquids and the reasons that fish are able to move through water more easily. We also talked about how big, heavy ships are able to stay afloat despite the effects of gravity.

In music we have been continuing our work on ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’. We have been really focusing on developing our singing (rather than just shouting) and we have made some good progress. But that’s not all. We have also added in something extra – a short performance on the glockenspiels during the song’s instrumental break. Unfortunately the video cut out on us so you’ll have to take our word for it – the final performance was the best that the class have ever done!

The children have worked very hard this week and I have seen lots of improvements in their concentration and work level!

Science

In Science this week we have continued to explore forces and how they act on objects. This week we were looking at water resistance and how the shape of an object can impact on the level of force acting on the object. The children used play-doh to create three shapes and then test each of these using a fair test. Some excellent predictions were made and the children could discuss their findings using scientific vocabulary which was excellent.

We also had the opportunity to feel the force of upthrust acting on a football when in water. The children described what they were feeling well using a range of vocabulary.

Take a look at the pictures below.

Daily Run

We have been working hard with our daily run and it seems to finally be paying off this week. The children were all working their socks off and putting maximum effort in to beat their previous score. It was lovely to see some children (who don’t particularly enjoy running) giving it their all! A very impressive performance 5J, lets see if we can push ourselves even further next time!

What a fantastic week we have had in Year 5! In amongst all of the other great learning that has been going on (see Miss Jones’ earlier blog for more information on that), we were also able to spend an entire day having an in depth look at the similarities and differences between Athens and Sparta – two very well known Ancient Greek city states.

The children were all invited to come in dressed as an Ancient Greek and boy did we have some fantastic costumes on show! Each class then spent half of the day learning about Athens with Miss Jones and the other half learning about Sparta with Miss Levett. It’s not often that we get to mix things up like this so it was lovely to be able to see all of the children working so hard throughout the day!

With Miss Jones the children learned all about how Athens was ruled by the people and was the birthplace of our modern day democracy (which roughly translates to ‘power of the people’). They also learned about the roles of men and women, even having a go at sewing some Greek letters!

With Miss Levett the children were taught all about what life was like in Sparta, which was quite different to Athens due to its more ‘warlike focus’. Again children looked at what life was like for both men and women and the children were surprised to learn that the treatment of Spartan women was quite a bit better than in Athens. We even managed to have a go at creating a phalanx formation – a technique often employed by the Spartans in battle, all while doing our best to look intimidating. The faint of heart be warned – these are some very terrifying Spartan warriors!

We all had a fantastic day and the children seemed to have learned a great deal about these two city states and Ancient Greece as a whole. To any year 5 children reading this blog, would you rather have been a Spartan or an Athenian and can you explain why?

On Wednesday we had Greek day. It was fabulous to see the amazing effort that everyone had put into dressing up and getting into the spirit of the day. This had a positive impact on the learning experience so thank you! There will be a separate blog for more on Greek day.

English

Diary writing! What an emotional week we have had looking at how to construct a diary entry. The children were given the difficult task of putting themselves in someone else’s shoes and writing from their perspective. We used our prior knowledge of the Odyssey story and focused on the part where Odysseus meets the cyclops Polyphemus. The children produced some great diary entries and impressed with their choices of sentence openers.

Maths

We have explored negative numbers in maths this week and the children have done a fabulous job. We have looked at counting back through 0 to complete a sequence, working out which is the hottest temperature out of two amounts and working out the changes in temperature on different planets. To accompany homework this week, I have given children a number line to assist with the task. Any problems please let me know.

Other news

On Friday morning the children were lucky enough to have a visit from Steve Cole who shared some lovely stories and ideas with the children. It was very engaging and the children were joining in with the rhyming parts of the story. Some children purchased a signed book and I know they were excited to read these and I would love to hear their feedback!